Aftermath
by SoraTakinouchi
Summary: Set in 1x10. Barry needed to know Caitlin is okay after being rescued from Snart. Snowbarry


_Disclaimer: Don't own the flash, nope._

Leaving Eddie to arrest Captain Cold and Heatwave (as Cisco _so_ fondly named them), Barry ran back to S.T.A.R Labs to find Cisco and Joe talking to Dr. Wells.

"Caitlin?" he asked, out of breath, his body still aching with the hot and cold intensity of the two guns.

"She is fine, Barry," Joe said calmly, "We got her out of there."

"Snart set her up with a bomb," Cisco said animatedly, "But Joe saved the day."

"Please don't say it one more time," Joe said patiently.

Barry gulped, unable to bear the distraction, "Can I see her? Where _is_ she?" That's all that mattered. The overpowering anger and fatigue was nothing compared to his yearning to see her.

"We dropped her off at her apartment after the police took her statement," Joe replied calmly, "She just needs some rest," his eyes surveyed Barry up and down, " _You_ look like hell, though."

"Man, my _suit_!" Cisco came forward, noticing the damage for the first time, "My precious suit," his fingers caressed the burnt scarlet fabric ruefully, "R.I.P you sweet creation of brilliance."

"Sorry, Cisco," Barry smiled tiredly, his mind buzzing with exhaustion and stress, "This suit saved me today, but it got ruined in the process."

"Yeah, I can see _that_ ," Cisco said grudgingly, "I have to make a new one, now."

"But before that," Wells interrupted, "You three are needed at the station. Snart and his partner are being taken there."

"That's right, Barry," Joe nodded, "We should be get going."

Barry shook his head slightly, "I think I should check on Caitlin first. She should not be alone after what happened."

"Barry, I think you are underestimating Dr. Snow's emotional strength," Wells reminded quietly, "She had been through a lot worse. She will be fine as long as she gets some sleep."

Barry bit on his lower lip uncertainly. She had been with two most dangerous criminals for several hours, being rigged with a bomb and if his brief meeting with the Heatwave was any indication, must be threatened a lot, too. How was she going to cope with it alone was something he was not willing to understand.

Before he could insist any further, Cisco placed a hand on his shoulder and he turned to look at him.

"Dude, I have known her longer than you. I'm sure she will be back tomorrow. You can talk to her then. Right now, you and her both need some rest," Barry nodded, having no energy to argue further, "But first, you need to change out of the corpse of my most amazing invention," Cisco added, raising his eyebrows at the destroyed suit.

Barry gave a tired smile, shaking his head slightly and went to change.

x-x-x

He could not stop himself. As soon as he left the precinct, he ran out of the building and called her. He _had_ to know, had to make sure she was really okay. He owed her that much after what he had put her through.

She picked up on the second ring.

"Hello?"

He breathed deeply at the sound of her voice.

"Caitlin?"

" _Barry_?" she sounded confused.

"Yeah, it's me," he passed a hand through his hair, "Were you sleeping or something?"

"No, no," she said quickly, "I was just reading."

"Oh," Barry nodded, closing his eyes momentarily at the relief that engulfed him.

"Barry, is everything okay?" she was getting concerned, now. He sighed heavily.

"Yes, of course, everything is fine," he sighed, "I just came out of the station."

"You got Snart," Caitlin stated proudly, "It's all over the news. The whole footage," her voice suddenly went slightly higher, "Are you okay, Barry? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, Caitlin, the suit took the most of it," he assured her, "But it's ruined now."

"Cisco must _not_ be happy," she said and he sensed the smile in her words. He smiled slightly.

"No, I think he's making it's grave or something."

The sound of her laughter made him sag a little, so profound was his relief. He wanted to see her, right then, but knew she must be tired with the day's ordeal and may not want to have someone over.

"And what about you?" she asked after the laughter subsided.

His jaw flexed, his light mood suddenly gone, "I just wanted to make sure you are okay," he said quietly, "Are you all right? Did they hurt you?"

Caitlin chuckled and the sound of it made Barry press his lips together, "Oh Barry, I'm fine, really. Nothing happened."

Barry shook his head, "Snart had you, Cait, he was going to kill you."

"He didn't," she reminded him calmly.

Barry huffed impatiently, "But he _would_ have if I hadn't shown up."

"And you did. You showed up, Barry, and you beat him at his own game," her voice quietened a bit, "I told you not to come, Barry, not for me. I told you to stay away. Now everyone knows about the Flash. You didn't want this."

He closed his eyes, unable to believe his ears. Even after touching death, she wanted him to be safe.

"Caitlin, he was going to _kill_ you. Don't you care for that?"

"I do, of course, Barry, I do care about my life. But the Flash is much more than that. Flash is about saving _hundreds_ of lives. I do not want you to be so easily blackmailed into revealing yourself just because of _one_ life."

Barry gritted his teeth, his jaw tight, "That one life is _yours_ , Caitlin. You don't expect me to leave you to die, do you?"

Caitlin sighed, "I expect you to do what needs to be done, Barry. Being the Flash, there will be times when you have to make even harder choices. You need to learn to make them."

Barry remained silent for a long time, not sure what to say. She thought sacrificing her would be the easier choice, the first step to learning to make harder ones. She was wrong. She had no idea how wrong she was.

"Barry, it's not that I don't appreciate what you have done," her voice, now softer, brought him out of his thoughts, "I'm grateful that you came when I thought I was going to die. And you stopped both of them. You defeated Snart and his partner. The Flash _wins_ , Barry."

She was trying to cheer him up, he realized, when he should be the one cheering _her_ up. He didn't want her to thank him. He didn't deserve it.

"Caitlin," he spoke in a low voice, "All of this happened because of me. Because I did not want to get involved with Snart, because I was selfish and obsessed with the man in the Yellow. This was _my_ fault and I don't -"

"Barry," she cut him, "The man in the yellow suit killed your _Mom_. He has your father in the prison for a lifelong sentence. _No_ one can blame you for being obsessed with him."

He paced impatiently. He wanted her to be angry at him, to blame him, give him an excuse to apologize, "No, Caitlin, I lost my _path_ ," he insisted, "I have always wanted to help people and this time I didn't and look what happened. Snart kidnapped you. He had you rigged with bomb and -"

"Who told you about the bomb?"

"Cisco did."

"Cisco _really_ needs to learn to keep his mouth shut."

He chuckled before sobering up again, "What I want to say, Caitlin, is that I am so sorry for what happened today. And I don't know why you aren't mad at me, but if you were, that would make sense and I would not mind, but," he took a deep breath, "Don't think that sacrificing your life is an option for me. I will never even _consider_ it. You are one of my closest friends, Cait, and I will _not_ have you think that."

There was silence for a long time and Barry could only hear her slight breath, "Thank you, Barry," she said quietly at long last, "That means a lot to me."

Barry sighed, feeling some of the weight of guilt shifting off from his shoulders, "I'm sorry you have to go through so much for a choice that I made," he added, "But I will make sure nothing like that happen again."

"I know you will, Barry," she said calmly, "And I will make sure no one ever use me to blackmail you."

Barry smiled, "So, will I see you tomorrow?"

"Of course," Caitlin said heartily, "We still have a man in yellow to catch."

"Oh, right, that too" Barry laughed, truly this time, "Good night, then."

"Good night, Barry," Caitlin replied.

x-x-x

 _A/N: I felt like this should have happened. Or something like that. Maybe it did but they added it to deleted scenes like all the other snowbarry scenes. It felt unnatural that Barry didn't immediately try to see Caitlin but instead helped Iris in moving to Eddie's house, when he was willing to show himself for the sake of Caitlin hours ago. So tell me what you think, okay?_


End file.
